obama did speak to one another on the phone. now, this is an important development because it's the first time they've talked in a week about the fiscal cliff. i am told, though, that there was no real progress in negotiations. in this sense there was no breakthrough on that central point of tax rates. as you know, president obama insists there is no deal unless the gop agrees to raise rates on the top 2% of earners. the gop says that's a nonstarter. and the two men have not moved from that basic position. now, all of this comes at the same time treasury secretary geithner also said for the first time the administration would be willing to go over the fiscal cliff if the gop does not agree to raise those rates. this was treasury secretary geithner earlier today on cnbc. >> is the administration prepared to go over the fiscal cliff? >> oh, absolutely. there's no prospect to an agreement that doesn't involve those rates going up on the top 2% of the wealthiest. all those americans, too, get a tax cut on the first $250,000 of their income. so, in some sense it's a tax cut for all ameri

of a deal. the reason that president obama won't, i think, just be totally recalcitrant about this is that if we get this deal done, according to a number of top financial people i talk to this week, and the economy is likely to take off and save a lot of grief and make everybody feel a lot better, and congress will benefit from that as well as the president. that is why he needs to get it done. deal.'s are begging for a who is likely to move on this in the senate? olympia snowe? lugar? scott brown? >> i think you have identified the usual suspects. the problem republicans have is this -- you have people like scott brown in massachusetts, linda lackl, a twice-elected governor of hawaii, running for the senate, and other wilson in new mexico, who were good statewide candidates with good credentials who lost for one reason, they had (r) next to their name. this is an albatross. this is a problem for republicans to deal with, and the president knows he has an advantage and the republicans have to get beyond this is a day are going to become competitive. >> any wiggle room in the house

president obama won't, i think just be totally recalcitrant about this is if we get this deal done, according to a number of f top financial people i talked to this week the economy is likely to take off and save a l of grief and make everybody feel a lot better. congre will benefit from that as well as the president. that is why he needs to get it done. >> in the senate, who is likely to move on this? olympia snowe? lugar? scott brown? >> you have identified some of the usual sususpects. the problemsproblem republicans have iss this -- you have people like scott brown in massachusetts, linda lingle in hawaii heather wilson in new mexico who were good statewide candidates with good credentials who lost for one reason -- they had "r" next to their name. it did not hurt heidi heidkamp or jon tester. this is an albatross for the republicans to deal with. the president knows he has the advantage, and the republicans have to get beyond this if they become combative as a party. >> any wiggle room in the house charles? >> i don't understandnd when colby says that for the president raisisi

a president obama. but now they're at the president obama white house almost every week meeting with president obama. and i unde t a i underst what ab the f all this face time with president. does t i we're tol elizabe mas sea committ them on board with his agenda, particularly for his side of the negotiations with congressional republicans over the bush tax cuts and the stimulus and the deficit. this president seems to have a thick skin if letting bygones be bygones does not come naturally to him as a man, he is doing a convincing job as a president. from the friendly response from the business leaders after these meetings, even from the ones who supported mitt romney. it does not seem like the president is calling these business leaders to the white house to read them the riot act. it does not seem like he is trying to exact political revenge. it seal like he is trying to get them on board with his agenda, particularly for his side of the negotiations with congressional republicans over the bush tax cuts and the stimulus and the deficit. this president seems to have a thick skin if

, miserable future to which his greed and selfish view of the world is taking him. in the next weeks, president obama has to be the ghost of christmas yet to come. he has to show the republicans how horrible it will be to be them if they don't change their path. he has to show them how disrupted and frightened the world will be, how bad they will look in that world beyond this december 31st if they hold true to a tight and jealous protection of wealth. the reason the president must be the ghost of christmas yet to come is stark. unless he shows them the future now, we will be in that future, we will be together, this country of ours, over the precipice. we'll be holding on to our economic life by the most precarious of lifelines. the fast diminishing faith of the world money markets. we will be a still-great country

world's energy mix. let's go. >>> about a week after the election, president obama met with ceos from g.e., hi, former bosses, american express and he eckna and xerox and dow chemical and ibm and she have ron and proctor and gamble. then home depot, goldman sachs, merck, coca-cola, macy's, yahoo, comcast, hi, current boss, marriott, at&t, it is not quite the entire fortune 500 but it's close. it is about to get closer. tomorrow there is a third meeting. the president speaking to another 100 or so ceos in washington. that makes three meetings with ceos in four weeks. this personal attention from the president has led to lots of positive statements from business leaders. for example, the head of marriott calling the president, quote, resoundingly reasonable. and yes, that is same marriott corporation that just put mitt romney back on the board of directors after his loss in the presidential election to that resoundingly reasonable president obama. mr. romney may have lost african-americans and latinos and women and young people and gay people and single people and independents and

obama remembered the people of staten island. this evening, in midland beach, new york. great big christmas tree shines out of the darkness. just a couple of weeks ago as impacted families were seeking a sense of getting back to normal. one local nursery donated the tree and another chipped in for the lights and the star and 70-year-old tom and his buddies planted it at the end of the street overlooking the town beach. as tom says, the tree has one message. it is christmas time. not disaster time. coming up, hillary clinton ran for the senate and michelle obama can too. >> instead utterly humiliated himself. we'll show him making sen tat history. in tonight's rewrite. having you ship my gifts couldn't be easier. well, having a ton of locations doesn't hurt. and a santa to boot! [ chuckles ] right, baby. oh, sir. that is a customer. oh...sorry about that. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. fedex office. it's so great to see you. you, too! oh, cloudy glasses. you didn't have to come over! actually, honey, i think i did... oh? you did? whoa, ladies, easy. hi. cascade k

, president obama remembered the people of staten island. this evening, in midland beach, new york. great big christmas tree shines out of the darkness. just a couple of weeks ago as impacted families were seeking a sense of getting back to normal. one local nursery donated the tree and another chipped in for the lights and the star and 70-year-old tom and his buddies planted it at the end of the street overlooking the town beach. as tom says, the tree has one message. it is christmas time. not disaster time. coming up, hillary clinton ran for the senate and michelle obama can too. >> instead utterly humiliated himself. we'll show him making sen tat history. in tonight's rewrite. ♪ if it wasn't for you ♪ don't know what i'd do ♪ i'd have nothing to prove ♪ i'd have nothing to lose [ male announcer ] zales is the diamond store. take an extra 10 percent off storewide, now through sunday. [ male announcer ] zales is the diamond store. it's part of what you slove about her.essing. but your erectile dysfunction - you know, that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for da

president obama white house almost every week meeting with president obama. and i understand that he wants them to help him get his general accomplished. i understand that. what about the other direction? the fact that they're getting all this face time with the president. does that mean they're getting their agenda, too? well, you can judge for yourself in small ways. we're told that a senator elizabeth warren of massachusetts is about to get a seat on the senate banking committee. it's not official yet but one aide says it is, quote, likely. this of course has the banking world, the financial industry in a tissy. this is not what they wanted. they did not want a new sheriff on wall street. one democratic aide describing them as, quote, going nuts over this. but going nuts does not necessarily mean you get what you want. especially not when the horse you bet on so boldly lost so badly. it also means that working goat some things doesn't mean you have to work together on everything. and it also means that elections have consequences. now it's time for "the last word" with lawrence o'

at the president obama white house almost every week meeting with president obama. and i understand that he wants them to help him get his general accomplished. i understand that. what about the other direction? the fact that they're getting all this face time with the president. does that mean they're getting their agenda, too? well, you can judge for yourself in small ways. especially not when the horse you bet on so boldly lost so badly. it also means that working goat some things doesn't mean you have to work together on everything. and it also means that elections have consequences. now it's time for "the last word" with lawrence o'donnell. >>> tonight, jay carney's position in the white house secretary hall of fame is assured by what he said today in the white house press briefing room about the republicans' latest budget proposal. quote, it is magic beans and fairy dust. >> i'm worried about the fiscal cliff in the same way i'm worried about martians. >> fiscal cliff. >> fiscal whatever it is. >> is this a rerun? >> still no progress as all sides jockey for position. >> i wou

boehnered off a republican proposal this week but president obama and other democrats have dismissed it because it includes no tax increase for the wealthiest of americans. >> 60% of americans pay slightly more. >> there's only one person out of 307 million americans who can sign something in law, the president. >> boehner is set to meet with small business owners while the president speaks at a conference of corporate ceos. >>> bob dole made an appearance on capitol hill yesterday in a wheelchair frail but still flexing his political might. he could not convince enough republicans to support a disabled rights treaty. the united nations treaty would ban discrimination against people with disabilities. it fell five votes short of getting the needed two-thirds approval in the senate. >>> the world's oldest woman has died at the age of 116. beth cooper is only one of eight people recognized by the begin he was book of world records to have lived that long. she died peacefully yesterday in an assisted living home near atlanta. the title of world's oldest person now belongs to 115-year- old

week and was criticizing boehner for rolling over as he saw it on the deal with obama. >> everybody is playing this down. i don't. eric ericsson wrote his supporters an e-mail saying this, without jim demint we would most likely not presently have in the united states senate pat tomby, rand paul, mike lee, marco rubio, jeff flake, ron johnson, ted cruz. we had not have a republican establishment that worries that conservatives might actually primary them. de menthe also had backed candidates who went on to lose their general elections. richard mourdock in indiana, christine o'donnell in delaware, ken buck out in colorado. bob, i'm going to back to this again. when the chief ramrod of the rift wing senate candidates leaves the post, who would replace him? how is this good news for the right? >> look, i'm not saying whether it's good news or bad news, i'm tell you what i think his calculation is. his calculation is he can be more of a free agent. i think he will get very involved in primaries, he will push hard right issues. i wish him well because the candidates e succeeded in nomina

, former president bill clinton, was president obama's key surrogate during this election cycle, setting the stage for president obama to return the favor in 2016. if she so decides to run. remember earlier this week, she was at the save and center for middle east policy and they ran that glossy video that felt like a campaign video in which she was praised by a number of officials, including president benjamin netanyahu. the stage sbing set f that's what she decides. if you go deeper into that poll, 66% of women say she should run, so higher than the national average. that would be one of her core constituencies. those close to me tell me when she steps down she'll focus on resting. >> to be frank, though, i think she's deserved a well-deserved rest. >> reporter: absolutely. i gave birth to my daughter on may 18th, five days later, i had a massive heart attack. bayer aspirin was the first thing the emts gave me. now, i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ woman ] learn from my story. look this isn

you so we don't miss anything. for what it's worth, president obama and house speaker boehner are talking. they had a nice telephone conversation. that's terrific. the first time in a week but apparently that's the headline. that's the editorial body. not much came out of it that we know of. sources say no real breakthrough. no formal negotiations. sessions are not scheduled. no back channel discussions taking place that anybody knows about at this time and as we wait for the white house briefing to begin, let's bring in wolf blitzer on this topic. there are a couple of polls that are very telling about how americans feel about congress and the president are behaving when it comes to the fiscal cliff. let me read some of these numbers for you. should obama compromise to get things done. 72% say yes. 22% say no. should the gop compromise to get things done. and take a look. 72% say yes. my question for you, wolf, i'm not sure you'll have the answer but perhaps you'll have guidance. for those democrats who say the president has a mandate because voters voted him into office while he

terrorist organization. but the obama administration worries that the stronger radical fighters become the more armed combat, not political efforts to find a solution will decide the outcome in syria. early next week secretary clinton travels to morocco for a meeting of the so-called friends of syria group. the focus will be on the opposition with the obama administration taking the first steps towards officially recognizing them. jill dougherty, cnn, dublin. >>> we're just a few minutes away from speaking with senator jim demint of south carolina. he's here live in "the situation room." he will explain his stunning decision today to resign from the senate. [ roasting firewood ] ♪ many hot dogs are within you. try pepto-bismol to-go, it's the power of pepto, but it fits in your pocket. now tell the world daniel... of pepto-bismol to-go. >>> let's get the latest on the new york subway death that became infamous by a haunting newspaper photo. lis is sylvester's monitoring that and other top stories in "the situation room" right now. what's the latest? >> wolf, the suspect was arraigned

bradley, live in washington. thanks, tahman. >>> and a top republican may be among president obama's choice for his reshuffled cabinet. former senator chuck hagel of nebraska is said to be on the short list for secretary of defense. the president is expected to announce his nominees in the next two weeks. >>> and looking frail and also in a wheelchair, former senator bob dole made a surprise appearance last night on capitol hill, just days after being released from the hospital. dole was pushing for passage of a u.n. treaty guaranteeing equal rights for the disabled. but his efforts were in vain. republicans blocked approval of the treaty, saying it threatens national sovereignty. >>> also, a political passing announced overnight. long-time texas congressman, jack brooks has died. you can see brooks in this very famous photograph of lbj being sworn in as president aboard air force one. he is standing just behind a grief-stricken jackie kennedy. brooks died last night in beaumont, texas, after a sudden illness. he was 89 years old. >>> overseas, now, where thousands of protesters rema

was widely assumed by republicans that obama and democrats badly wanted to avoid it. that was the premise that any possible agreement hedged on. that was the common goal, or so we thought. of the past couple of weeks, it has become increasingly clear to many of us that we were simply wrong about that. incredibly, many top democrats including the president seemed part perfectly happy to go off the cliff. that is why the president has been more interested in campaign rallies and actually negotiating a deal. it explains why the president is now stubbornly insisting on raising tax rates when he himself said just last year that you could raise more revenue from capping deductions and closing loopholes. them or balance. it's about an ideological campaign that most americans thought would have ended on november 6, and that's also why the president sent secretary geithner up here last week with a proposal so completely ridiculous it wouldn't have passed the house, as i indicated earlier, if nancy pelosi were still speaker. it was more of a provocation than a proposal, to be perfectly fran

years from now. and we learned that a couple of weeks ago. with us now, we've got chief white house correspondent for "politico," mike allen, here with the morning "playbook." mike, "politico's" lead story is how democrats are pleading with the obama campaign to share their data. lots of luck. explain. >> no, you're very wise. so this data vault that the obama campaign put together -- and there are estimates that the campaign spent $100 million writing their own software, building this database. and this isn't the old name rank, serial number databases that campaigns had in the past. this is layers and layers of data about each of their supporters. their social media contacts. their car registrations. their propensity to volunteer as well as cell phone er, e-mail. this is very valuable. as you know, that can perish very quickly. it can get obsolete. in obama world, they're talking about how to maintain this data, how to work this muscle, keep this database vibrant. they've already started this week. i think all of you probably got the e-mail from stephanie cutter, the deputy campaig

syrian opposition as the representative of the syrian people next week. that could start to pave the way for them to create a new government. >> very interesting. margaret brennan, thank you noor. >>> in washington this morning, just 26 days left before the fiscal cliff deadline. president obama spoke on the phone with house speaker john boehner on wednesday while his treasury secretary said the white house is, in fact, ready to go straight over the fiscal cliff. major garrett is at the white house. major, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, norah and charlie. later on this afternoon the president will travel across the potomac river to northern virginia to meet a middle-class family to make the self-evident point if the there is a deal and taxes are raised by about $2,000 they'll be happier and spend more money. that's the p.r. side of this. much more importantly, for the deal, the two key players yesterday picked up the phone. the phone call relatively brief and substantive, though details remain illusive. shorter, sources say. the last week 28-minute conversation described th

%. >> reporter: that danger not enough to keep congress in session. it's already quit for the week as most lawmakers assume correctly, they are not players until there's a deal. president obama, in a meeting with some of the country's largest corporations demand that congress raise the debt ceiling without any strings attached. >> if congress in any way suggests that they're going to tie negotiations to debt ceiling votes and take us to the brink of default once again as part of a budget negotiation, i will not play that game. because we've got to break that habit before it starts. >> reporter: the president sees the fiscal cliff showdown as an opportunity to break that linkage for good. republicans say they will not increase the debt ceiling now $16 trillion and due to expire in february without more deficit reduction. >> history shows that the only major deficit cutting deals we ever do around here ever comes after debates over the debt ceiling. it may be a good idea if you don't care about the debt, but it's a nonstarter for those of us who do. >> reporter: public opinion generally

. firm stand. we have seen in the past obama host: what specific benefits do guest: usually some kind of a cash benefit or they may help the search for a job. it is usually about $300 a week. it can vary from state sen. in the mississippi i want to say it is closer to $200. host: how are the programs funded? payroll taxes. through the trust the state administers the program and the money goes to the unemployed. host: talk about qualifications order to apply? guest: generally what you have to do is you have to have a year certain threshold. you have to have been let go from a job. and necessarily qualify for -- to qualify for unemployment benefits. if he graduated from college and do not have a job, you getit is a pretty easy system to get into if you were laid off after 10 years. host: we have some qualifications a person must meet on the screen there. have lost a job through no fault of his or her own. guest: you have to be laid off. there is the difference between being laid off and being fired. corporate downsizing. you cannot get unemployment benefits if he were to leave in host:

more than two weeks since president obama invited the major players to the white house to discuss the situation. as of this morning, no new talks are scheduled. brianna keilar joins us. so many republicans say they are pessimistic about a deal happening in time to avert this fiscal cliff. some say it's for political reasons. what can you tell us? >> it may all be for political reasons. that's no surprise in washington. as you can seen through dealmaking not just on this but things in the past couple of years between the white house and congress, there is almost this rhythm that has evolved. both sides are pointing to the other for an impasse. republicans like senator lindeyy graham just slamming the white house and tim geithner for a plan he laid out on behalf of the administration, laying out about $1.6 trillion in new revenues coupled with only about $400 billion in medicare cuts. listen to what graham said. >> i think we're going over the cliff. it's pretty clear to me they made a political calculation. this offer doesn't remotely deal with entitlement reform in a way to save medic

couple of weeks. >> reporter: both the white house and congressional republicans have put forward a plan to avoid the fiscal cliff. but right now they're miles apart and digging in their heels. president obama told bloomberg tv a deal is possible, but -- >> unfortunately the speaker's proposal right now is still out of balance. >> reporter: that plan sent to the white house offers a total of $2.2 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade. that includes $1.2 trillion in spending cuts and $800 billion in new tax revenue, but here's the key. no rate increases in the top 2% of taxpayers. that's non-negotiable for president obama. >> we're not going to be able to got a deal without it. >> reporter: the white house says the republicans' math just doesn't add up. >> it's magic beans and fairy dust. >> reporter: negotiations have reached a stalemate. >> there's nothing going on privately that is not going on publicly. >> reporter: there is no plan at this time for congressional leaders to meet with the president at the white house, and it doesn't sound like he's sending out invitat